Transatlantic Age-Verification Laws Descend into Chaos; Trust Stamp Unveils Biometric ‘Binding’ in a niche market predicted to reach $5.12B in annual revenue by 2033

Rhea-AI Summary

Trust Stamp (NASDAQ:IDAI) has launched its proprietary biometric-binding technology TrustedAge™ to address the failing age-verification laws globally. The announcement comes as the UK's Online Safety Act proves ineffective due to widespread VPN usage, while similar legislation creates compliance challenges across the US.

The company is targeting a growing market expected to reach $5.12 billion in annual revenue by 2033, up from $1.45 billion in 2024. Trust Stamp's solution uses biometric binding and Zero Knowledge Proofs to create non-transferable age credentials, verified through live selfie checks.

The technology has been validated through peer review at the IEEE-sponsored BIOSIG 2025 conference and tested in Australia's Age Assurance Technology Trial, demonstrating strong accuracy with a Mean Predicted Age of 18.2 against an Actual Age of 17.81.

Positive

• Targeting rapidly growing age verification market projected to reach $5.12B by 2033
• Technology validated through peer review and successful testing in Australia
• Solution addresses critical flaws in current age verification systems
• Demonstrated accuracy in age prediction (Mean Predicted Age 18.2 vs Actual 17.81)

Negative

• Entering a market with existing widespread VPN circumvention issues
• Faces challenge of market adoption amid established legacy systems
• Implementation dependent on regulatory compliance requirements

Insights

Privacy and Cybersecurity Analyst

Trust Stamp's biometric age verification technology addresses regulatory failures as VPNs render current systems ineffective in a growing $5.12B market.

Trust Stamp's announcement of its biometric-binding technology, TrustedAge™, comes at a critical inflection point in the age verification market. The company has identified a fundamental flaw in current approaches: they verify devices rather than actual people, making them easily circumventable through VPNs and credential sharing. The UK's Online Safety Act implementation has already exposed these weaknesses, creating an opening for Trust Stamp's solution.

What makes this particularly significant is the timing - Trust Stamp is positioning itself ahead of a wave of similar legislation across two dozen US states. Companies facing potential $10,000 per-incident fines represent an immediate addressable market for their technology. The market itself is projected to grow from $1.45 billion in 2024 to $5.12 billion by 2033 according to Market Intelo's research.

The company's approach uses a combination of Zero Knowledge Proofs with Biometric Bound Credentials, which has received validation through both peer review (accepted at the IEEE-sponsored BIOSIG 2025 conference) and practical testing in Australia's Age Assurance Technology Trial. Their solution creates non-transferable credentials that require live biometric verification each session without storing sensitive biometric data - addressing both compliance requirements and privacy concerns.

This represents a potentially significant competitive advantage in a rapidly growing regulatory technology space, though actual market adoption and competitive response will ultimately determine its impact on Trust Stamp's financial performance.

Widespread VPN use has rendered the recent UK law unenforceable while a tidal wave of US regulations creates a liability nightmare for companies relying on broken, obsolete technology

Atlanta, GA, Sept. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trust Stamp (Nasdaq: IDAI) rolled-out its proprietary biometric-binding technology as the solution to the systemic failure of age-verification laws that are collapsing under real-world pressure. As the global push for online safety descends into disarray, Trust Stamp’s technology provides the critical, missing link that can make age verification enforceable.

This announcement comes as the UK’s landmark Online Safety Act proves ineffective just weeks after enforcement began, and a ticking time bomb of similar legislation creates an imminent compliance crisis for companies across the United States.

Trust Stamp President Andrew Gowasack commented, “We are witnessing a systemic failure in real-time. Well-intentioned laws are being rendered useless overnight because they are built on a fundamentally broken premise. You cannot verify a device or an IP address and pretend you have verified a person. The entire framework is a house of cards, and the surge in VPN use is the gust of wind that's knocking it down. Age verification software is a fast growing sector with Market Intelo’s Age Verification Solution 2023 Market Research Report predicting revenue to grow from $1.45 billion in 2024, to $5.12 billion by 2033, and yet there is still a dangerous reliance upon circumventible legacy systems.”

The catastrophic failure of the current approach is now on public display. The moment UK regulators began enforcement, the system broke. The immediate, massive surge in VPN use wasn't just a challenge; it was a wholesale rejection of the system's viability, proving a critical flaw: verification without biometric binding is merely security theater.

In response to this crisis, Trust Stamp is offering technology capable of fixing this flaw: TrustedAge™. Standard age verification is like a paper ticket, easily passed back or copied. TrustedAge is a biometric key, permanently locked to one user. A live biometric capture confirms the rightful owner is present for every session, making the credential worthless to anyone else.

Gowasack continued, “What we're seeing in the UK is a preview of the chaos coming to America. A tidal wave of similar, flawed legislation is hitting two dozen US states right now. Companies are scrambling for a solution, facing a compliance nightmare with fines up to $10,000 per incident. They are about to learn the hard way that their current systems are flawed. We have a ready-to-deploy solution that actually solves the problem. After a one-time verification, the credential is locked to the user. Each time they access content, a simple, live selfie check ensures the right person is present, without storing their biometric data. This makes the age credential non-transferable, useless if borrowed or stolen, and closes the compliance loophole that exposes companies to huge fines. This is not just an improvement on the legacy system; it is the way to make it work.”

A paper presenting the company’s novel approach, combining Zero Knowledge Proofs with Biometric Bound Credentials, was accepted for presentation at the IEEE-sponsored Biometrics Special Interest Group (BIOSIG 2025) conference, inviting rigorous peer-review and recognizing novel contributions. The company’s technology was also tested in a case study under Australia’s Age Assurance Technology Trial for on-device processing. The test found the technology to be suitable for deployment in the Challenge 25 policy area with a Mean Predicted Age of 18.2 against the Mean Actual Age of 17.81.

Dr. Norman Poh, Chief Science Officer of Trust Stamp, explains, “Our ZKP-based approach enables organizations to verify remote human presence and age without exposing sensitive biometric data whilst preventing credentials sharing because the solution authenticates the user directly, instead of relying on the device as an authenticator. Simply unlocking the device no longer suffices. This breakthrough not only enhances compliance and user trust but also sets a new security and trust benchmark in digital identity systems.”

Inquiries:

Trust Stamp                                                    Email: shareholders@truststamp.ai
Andrew Gowasack                                         Email: agowasack@truststamp.ai

About Trust Stamp

Trust Stamp is a global provider of AI-powered services for use in multiple sectors including banking and finance, regulatory compliance, government, healthcare, real estate, communications, and humanitarian services. Its technology empowers organizations via advanced solutions that reduce fraud, tokenize and secure data, securely authenticate users while protecting personal privacy, reduce friction in digital transactions, and increase operational efficiency, enabling customers to accelerate secure financial inclusion and reach and serve a broader base of users worldwide

With team members from twenty-two nationalities in eight countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Trust Stamp trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq: IDAI).

Safe Harbor Statement: Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Remarks 

All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The information in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements and information related to, among other things, the company, its business plan and strategy, and its industry. These statements reflect management’s current views with respect to future events-based information currently available and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. The company does not undertake any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after such date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

FAQ

What is Trust Stamp's (IDAI) new age verification technology?

Trust Stamp's TrustedAge™ is a biometric-binding technology that creates non-transferable age credentials verified through live selfie checks, using Zero Knowledge Proofs to protect user privacy.

How large is the age verification market that Trust Stamp (IDAI) is targeting?

According to Market Intelo's research, the age verification solution market is expected to grow from $1.45 billion in 2024 to $5.12 billion by 2033.

How accurate is Trust Stamp's (IDAI) age verification technology?

In Australia's Age Assurance Technology Trial, the technology demonstrated strong accuracy with a Mean Predicted Age of 18.2 against an Actual Mean Age of 17.81.

What problem does Trust Stamp's (IDAI) TrustedAge technology solve?

TrustedAge solves the problem of circumventable age verification systems by binding credentials to individual users through biometrics, preventing credential sharing and VPN-based circumvention.

How does Trust Stamp (IDAI) protect user privacy in age verification?

Trust Stamp uses Zero Knowledge Proofs and performs on-device processing, allowing age verification without storing sensitive biometric data while ensuring compliance.